Employee will be assigned to the Infectious Disease Section, VA Hospital, Tampa, FL, providing expertise in various fields of infection control to include identification of infectious disease processes; surveillance and epidemiologic investigation; prevention/control transmission of infectious agents; prevention program management and communication; and education on infectious diseases and proper specimen collection techniques.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Participates in planning and implementing the Infection Control Program with special emphasis on control and prevention of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO). Collaborates with key staff to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the programs, and manage program resources (financial, human, materials and information). Utilizes effective prevention and control strategies specific to the practice setting, population served, and continuum of care. Integrates surveillance findings into the organization's plan for improvement of practice and patient outcomes. Recommends new or revised practices or procedures based on currently accepted, evidence-based infection prevention and control strategies. Conducts surveillance and investigations by using epidemiological principles. Uses appropriate statistical techniques to interpret data, calculate rates, and critically evaluate significance of findings. Identifies opportunities for improvement based on indicators, process and outcome measures, other findings, and/or observations. Assesses educational needs, develops objectives and strategies, implements educational plans, and serves as the educational resource for infection prevention, control and health care epidemiology. Attends infection control training courses as required; Collaborates with other health professionals to ensure comprehensiveness and continuity of health care for patient care planning. Mentors staff in the application of principles related to infection control. Participates in the organization's multidisciplinary improvement strategies. Performs other directly related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT - Applicants must possess a Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree with major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) at the time the degree was obtained. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS - In addition to meeting the above requirements, you must also meet one of the additional requirements as described below to qualify for this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE - Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the knowledge, skill and ability to successfully perform the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: investigating outbreaks of infection when they occur; applying knowledge of clinical microbiology, epidemiology, infectious diseases, and patient care practices; developing, implementing and evaluating an infection prevention and control program; analyzing trends and risk factors; designing and implementing studies directed toward evaluation and problem solving; and assisting in the development, evaluation and delivery of educational programs or tools related to infection prevention, control, and epidemiology. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Successful completion of 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree with a major in a field appropriate to the work of this position that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work is qualifying at the GS-11 grade level. OR COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Health InformaticsInfection ControlOrganizational StewardshipTeaches Others IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Requirements: The work is usually sedentary, although there are periods of walking, standing, carrying records or reports, or transporting audio-visual equipment. Rounds of all areas in the facility and satellite sites are routinely conducted. This may also involve driving government or personal vehicles to the satellite sites. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Contacts

• Address James A Haley Veterans Hospital 13000 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard Tampa, FL 33612 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]